And I thought ghosting was only for dating! When life gives you lemons (no press pass), you make lemonade (buy the cheapest ticket on StubHub and call up your friends to say that you’d get to hang out with them all day). I was supposed to get to Budweiser Stage at noon on October 4th for the first-ever All Things Go Toronto date. Unfortunately, the TTC could apparently sense my love of the STM and I ended up arriving at the venue just after 1:30 p.m. This was particularly devastating for me as I love Emei, but I did get to see her when she played Bar Le Ritz this year.
Despite that bummer, I ended up meeting up with friends and we explored the festival for Elio’s set. The nice thing about All Things Go is that only one artist performs at a time, and you can hear the performance from anywhere, so you can run to the bathroom or grab food without missing anything but the visuals. Since I wasn’t given an official press pass, I was able to do whatever I wanted as a regular festivalgoer. In between sets, the main stage had a playlist bumping, and there was also the phenomenal DJ Levi set up at the Corona Canada Tropical Oasis near the food truck area, so that no matter where you went, there was music bumping.
Since I didn’t have to wear my all-black professional concert photographer outfit, I decided to wear my “I Hate Montreal” Snow Hard Feelings Tour shirt (which I did have to explain all day), and once my friend AJ texted me a picture of matching holographic pink cowboy hats, I knew we were going to have a great day. We definitely nailed the vibes of the day because we were included in the official Budweiser Stage fit check video. The sponsorships were excellent (Her, Amplify Her Voice, and Women in Music), but the festival vibes were a little lacklustre in my opinion. The venue opened for the day at noon and the last set finished at 11 p.m. I was there for 9.5 hours. It was late in the season, and although every member of staff I talked to was lovely, there wasn’t very much to do in between the fantastic sets. There was an Aperol booth (one small counter, nothing like the Osheaga oasis), RBCxMusic (it was the last weekend they were running, so all the upgrades were gone), Virgin Radio (they had bag clips and chapstick, nothing super zesty), and people from La Senza walking around giving out free underwear (they very quickly ran out). But there weren’t really any games or brand/free DIY stations, which was a little disappointing.
We caught Julia Wolf’s set on the lawn, and it was surprisingly fantastic. I knew Julia would be great—I mean, who doesn’t like mournful but powerful gothic indie vocals?!? Anyone with a song dedicated to Megan Fox and Jennifer’s Body is already a great artist in my mind. Honestly, if I had a dollar for every artist I listened to that referenced that movie, I’d probably have enough money to buy an All Things Gay festival pass. Side note, my go-to “congratulations on coming out” double feature is Jennifer’s Body followed by But I’m a Cheerleader in case y’all wanted to judge my cinematic taste.
The surprisingly fantastic part was the sound quality and the views on the Budweiser Stage lawn. I’d never been on the lawn before—as you can imagine, if I’m already travelling to Toronto for a show, I’m going all the way and buying pit tickets—but this may have changed my mind. My poor knees that snap, crackle, and pop like Rice Krispies definitely appreciated being able to sit and lay down on the grass. I’m still a barricade princess, but we’ll get into that later. Where festivals like Osheaga make you choose between artists and hike from one side of the venue to the other, All Things Go only had one stage, which made discovering new artists easy and accessible. I am definitely a newly minted Julia Wolf and Remi Wolf fan after today.
Back to the festival experience! I really miss when festivals used to let you re-enter the grounds. I know it helps with security, but it also helps them make a lot of money on food sales. My 12 oz iced latte from Propeller Coffee, although good, was almost $1/oz. I know that I could have skipped it, but I will be honest—being a freelance journalist and photographer in Montreal pretty much comes with an addiction to third-wave coffee, and my brain was starting to scream.
I will say, as much as I expected to experience daytime robbery from the eye-watering prices, I was not expecting such a fantastic food scene at the festival. There was the usual pop, chips, pizza, poutine, and alcohol, but there was also third-wave coffee, doughnuts, ice cream, tacos, and the star of the show, AliJandro’s Kitchen, who served Mexican and Palestinian fusion. I got an AliJandro’s box, which was basically a burrito bowl, with seasoned rice, al pastor chicken, a sweet and spicy hot sauce, tangy garlic sauce, pico de gallo, and roasted chickpeas. It’s probably the best thing I’ve ever eaten at a festival. Honestly, getting something so fresh and delicious then sitting under a tree in the dappled sunlight to eat it with friends was such a lovely way to catch Blondshell and Chelsea Cutler’s sets.
After our delicious dinner, we went to meet up with a friend I’d made earlier in the day, and as we were walking, I turned to my friend Lily and went, “Is that Julia Wolf?” followed by, “I think that’s Julia Wolf,” and just as the words left my mouth, I saw a girl covered in glitter SPRINTING at the speed of sound past us. It was, of course, Julia Wolf, and she was very nice and stopped to talk to fans. I took several people’s photos before getting my own, then we went on our merry way full of good vibes and food.
Remember how I said I am a barricade princess? Yeah, turns out the person I was spilling my woes to about not being able to get a press pass and all my friends being in separate sections actually went ahead and upgraded us to the pit! Sometimes being a certified yapper comes in handy. With our pit wristbands secured, me and my friends made some TikToks, caught Ravyn Lenae lying down on the lawn, and then moseyed on down to catch Remi Wolf and Reneé Rapp in the pit. My lucky streak continued when we were able to snag spots on the barricade. After we got settled there, the back of the pit filled up completely. This is the only way I was able to get photos.
I’d heard nothing but excellent things about Remi Wolf, but nothing could prepare me for what I can only describe as overtly and bubbly horniness. I am obsessed with her charismatic stage presence. She can also play the drums???? During “Kangaroo,” she absolutely killed it! Is there anything she can’t do?!? Her entire set, she was running and dancing all over the stage, but during “Sexy Villain,” she twerked with her bass player. She did a lil dancy dance before “Toro” with her band and instructed everyone to get their horns ready. I also saw Julia Wolf for the third time that day when she came out on stage to sing a cover of “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac with Remi. Also, to the drunk girls behind me who were obsessed with my Notes app ramblings, I hope y’all had a great time—as promised, I am in fact writing this review and not just a super dedicated concertgoer.
And then the pièce de résistance, the headliner and mother herself, Reneé Rapp. I won’t lie, the whole reason for me applying to All Things Go was to get the chance to shoot Reneé. When I saw her for the first time, she was on her Snow Hard Feelings Tour, and then I saw her at Osheaga as well. I hadn’t started covering concerts in Montreal yet, but hey, third time’s the charm, right? No, but somehow also yes? While I didn’t get to be in the photo pit with my professional camera, I did get to experience her whole set on the barricade where she sang to me multiple times, I was on the “Kiss It Kiss It” cam twice, and I got some killer shots well past the first-three-song limit for press. That’s my recognition for having good tits and a big heart. Will this be the thing that finally instils patience and trust in the process in me? Probably not. But I do appreciate that the universe keeps trying!
Reneé’s set was phenomenal; her voice is well-trained and meant to be heard live. Anyone who can hit the high notes in “That’s So Funny” while laying flat on her back on a piano deserves some respect on her name. Her smoky eyeshadow and wild hair work perfectly for the amount of cardio she does during the set. And there is a lot of cardio. I feel like the average person doesn’t appreciate how much work goes into shaking ass and belting music at the same time. While some fan favourites were excluded from the setlist—I’m looking at you “Willow,” “Bruises,” and “Colorado,” but I am not surprised at you “Too Well”—the setlist did include my favourite classics such as “In The Kitchen,” “Snow Angel,” “Pretty Girls,” and “Poison Poison,” with the notorious goose honk included. As well as all my new favourites, “Shy,” “Good Girl,” “You’d Like That Wouldn’t You,” and “At Least I’m Hot.”
I will say that I know Towa is in Paris for Fashion Week, but my little lesbian heart was a little devastated that I didn’t get to hear her live again. Ms. Bird, please come back to Montreal, your voice is iconic. At least Role Model (AKA Tucker Pillsbury) understood the assignment and gave it 110%. Also, Reneé, I’d like to apologise publicly for flipping you off three times now during “Poison Poison.” In my defence, it’s honestly a reflex at this point, and you’ve flipped me off the same amount of times.
After 9.5 hours outside, the loss of my voice, more homoerotic eye contact than I can count, multiple TTC workers looking at me like I had three heads after I spoke to them in French slang because my brain was on autopilot, and one frozen pizza later, my head finally hit the pillow and my dyketacular day came to an end. All Things Go, call me back baby—we can work it out on the remix for next year. I believe in us <3
Review & photos – Ashtyn Turner
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